The Power of Fairy Tail
by Andril
Summary: Natsu was left behind with a broken leg while everyone else went off to the S-Class trials. When they reappear 7 years later, he's the Master of Fairy Tail and has gained more power than they can even imagine. Follows the guild after the Tenrou arc. Powerful/Smart Natsu M for future lemons. I do not own Fairy Tail or any of it's Characters.
1. Chapter 1

Natsu lay in his bed in the Fairy Tail infirmary with an angry expression on his face. "What do you mean I can't go to the S-class trials?"

Erza looked at him and sighed, "Master came to a decision, since both your left leg and arm are broken, you have to sit out this year."

This only served to make Natsu angrier, "Oh come on, that's not even my dominant side, I can take anybody with only one arm and leg!"

Erza smiled at the Dragon Slayer, "Alright, fight me right now, if you win you can come."

Natsu grinned and awkwardly tried to stand up, having a lot of trouble because his left leg was in a thick cast, "Alright I'm all fire…" Before the dragon slayer could finish his favorite phrase, Erza had punched him in the head. Unconscious, he dropped back down onto the bed. He awoke a few minutes later to see Erza's smirking face, "Looks like I win Natsu. Now, lie back down and get some rest."

Natsu groaned by acquiesced to the powerful woman's demands. As he lay in bed, a feeling of gloom began to wash over him. Erza noticed and bent over the bed, giving him a soft kiss on the lips.

"Come on Natsu, it isn't that bad, there's always next year"

"It's not that, I just don't want too spend a whole week without you, especially if I'm not going to be able to move that well."

The Scarlet haired knight let out an uncharacteristic giggle, "If you promise to behave and don't give Macao any trouble, I might bring you back some exotic fish from Tenroujima island."

This seemed to perk up the sad man and he flashed his trademark grin, "Alright now I'm really fired up!"

Erza smiled and gave him another, longer, kiss. She stood up and said, "Alright I have to go pack, we're leaving early in the morning."

Natsu smiled and said "Alright I'll see you in a week! And don't forget my fish!"

Erza flashed him another smile and left. Natsu was now alone in the infirmary. He laid back on the bed with a sigh. He began talking to the room, "This sucks, almost everybody is going to the trials, even Happy is ditching me." He had talked to his little blue friend earlier. Happy had decided to go with Charle to Tenroujima Island. In fact, his entire team was going. Erza was going as a test proctor, Gray as a candidate, and even Lucy who was Cana's partner for the test.

"Damnit, if that bastard Gray becomes S-class before me I'll never live it down, especially because I couldn't go this year."

He thought about getting up and trying to sneak onto the boat, but realized that Gajeel and Wendy would smell him before he got within a hundred feet of the boat, and then Erza would kill him.

When he thought of Erza he couldn't help but smile. He was still pretty amazed at the fact that they were together. He grinned as he remembered what had happened a few weeks ago.

"_Hey Erza, fight me!" The Scarlet Knight didn't even look at him, too focused on her cake. Natsu groaned and then got a great idea. He snuck up behind her and right as she put a bite in her mouth, knowing that she was at her most distracted savoring the flavors of her favorite food, he grabbed the plate of cake and sprinted out the door. It was only a moment later that he heard Erza's roar of anger and he could hear promises of death and mutilation as she chased him out of the guild. 'Huh, maybe this wasn't such a good idea.'_

_He sprinted towards the forest, determined to keep true to his path as he knew it would lead to a battle with Erza. He thought to himself, 'Maybe I should have picked a less volatile way of getting her to fight me though, she's really serious about her cake.'_

_He made it to the forest and started darting in between the trees as he felt a tingling sensation between his shoulder blades. As he dodged he saw a sword fly past him and embed itself up to the hilt in a tree, nearly ripping it down. 'Shit, shit, shit, shit she's getting really serious!'_

_He made it too a clearing before he felt something slam into his back, and before he knew it Erza had grabbed his wrist, turned him around, and pinned him to a tree trunk. This also knocked the plate of cake out of her hand and it fell to the ground, cake going everywhere. With her hands occupied pinning him to the tree, Natsu could tell that she was winding up for a killer head butt. Not knowing what else to do, he suddenly leaned forward, kissing Erza on the lips. She froze in shock and Natsu took the opportunity to rip his wrists free. However, instead of making good his escape while she was still too stunned to move, his arms encircled her waist of their own accord and he pulled her tight against him. She slowly relaxed into the kiss, her hands coming up to grip his hair and her mouth opening slightly as she let out a tiny pleased sound. As quickly as it had started, the kiss was over, both breaking it off to breath. Erza still looked extremely shocked so Natsu grinned and said, "So, do you want to go on an actual date with me sometime?"_

Natsu grinned as he remembered his audaciousness. He'd still earned a beating due to the fact that he had messed with Erza's cake, and extremely good kiss or no that earned him his punishment. But afterwards she had agreed to go on a date with him and they're been almost inseparable since then.

He felt his eyes closing and his last thoughts before falling asleep were plans for his next date with Erza, wondering where he should take his mate next.

* * *

><p>3 Years Later<p>

* * *

><p>Fairy Tail's master sat at the bar, grimly drinking from his mug of ale. He finished it and called for another, "Kinana, if you could bring me another one please."<p>

The barmaid sighed, but poured him another one, "You know master, you're going to drink away our entire budget for alcohol if you keep going at this rate."

Before the master could make a snarky reply, the doors to Fairy Tail were kicked open and a pink haired man strode into the guild. There was no hubbub or greeting or shouting of insults as there should have been and it pained him every time he walked into the guild. There was only the sound of quiet conversation.

"What do you want Master, I'm really busy with these new jobs."

"Alright good you're here," to Natsu and then louder, "Alright everybody gather around we gotta talk."

Everyone in the guild came over to the bar with looks of curiosity on their faces, Wakaba being the first to speak. "What do you want to talk about Macao?"

"Shut up Wakaba, I told you it's master when we're at the guild."

Everyone got an amused look on their face except Natsu, this was an argument they'd seen before. As the two men argued Natsu tuned out and look around at the people who remained in his beloved guild. Alzack and Bisca were there, Bisca carefully holding on to their two year old, Asuka. Jet and Droy were there, Jet staring absentmindedly off into the distance, and Droy, who had become something of a binge eater, grimly eating a huge piece of mutton. Laki was idly making little wooden figures in her hand. Max was sitting with his head down on the bar, looking like he'd passed out drunk again. Reedus was idly painting a picture of the entire scene. Nab hadn't even come over to the group, he was staring at the job board again. Warren was staring intently at his hands trying not to listen to anyone's mind.

"Oi Natsu, are you even listening."  
>"Oh what? No I wasn't what did you say?"<p>

"I said it's about time you became the master." Natsu could feel a cold pit form in his stomach as he slammed his hands down on the bar and stood up, "No, I already told you I don't want it, it's the old man's job."

Macao had a grimace on his face, "Natsu look, it's been three years, I don't want to give in but we have to think about the future, we lost our best mages when Tenroujima disappeared. You've been working your ass off these past few years handling all the S-class quests but we need a strong master, one who can actually deal with the council and all the bastards trying to exert some muscle on us. I can't do that, but you can!"

Natsu sighed and sat back down, "Who would take the S-class quests? We still need at least one S-class wizard able to do them."

Macao looked at him, "You know damn well that Jet and Droy are good enough as a team to complete S-class quests."

Natsu looked dubiously at them and then sighed, knowing that Macao was right, the two had gotten stronger in the past three years, only due to the fact that they had to take greater responsibilities and harder jobs in the guild.

"I still don't want it."

"Natsu, you're the only one with enough real power to truly be called master."

Natsu glared around at everybody in the guild and asked "Is this really what everybody wants?"

He looked at each member individually, and all of them gave him a nod and a smile, showing their approval.

Natsu pondered it for a while, but came to the conclusion that he had no other choice; he had to take some responsibility. 'It's what she would have wanted me to do.'

"Fine I'll be the next master."

Everybody let out a cheer, which caused Asuka to wake up and cry out angrily, her nap having been interrupted. Natsu laughed and gave everyone a mock glare, "Now look at what you guys did?"

They all grinned back at him and gave a quieter cheer. "Now that's more like it."

Macao stood up and said "So, Master, what's the first order of business."

Natsu looked around at everybody and said, "Well let's see, tonight, we party Fairy Tail style, and tomorrow," he gave an evil grin "tomorrow I'm going to get this guild back into true Fairy Tail form"

4 years later

Natsu sat at the bar in Fairy Tail, doing some paperwork for the council while sipping on a mug of ale. He spoke quietly to himself, "Damn, is this the kind of crap I put the old man through back in the good old days?" He laughed quietly while he read the council report. It seemed that Romeo, Bisca, and Alzack had destroyed a hotel and two restaurants as they were apprehending a pair of criminals. Somehow Max had ruined the entire stock of a clothing store with his sand. Worst of all, the two S-class mages Jet and Droy, had destroyed an entire train, not to mention hundreds of peoples luggage, while fighting with some dark wizards.

"Man I feel really bad for all the trouble I gave gramps back in the day, it really is a headache."

He felt a tug on his leg and looked down to find a 6-year old Asuka looking up at him with a big smile. "Uncle Natsu, come play with me!"

Natsu smiled down at the precocious six year old, "I can't right now Asuka, Uncle Natsu has to do some important paperwork so that the council doesn't get angry at us."

Asuka giggled, "Uh-oh, is somebody in trouble again?"

Natsu gave a big grin and a laugh, "Your mommy and daddy are in trouble this time Asuka."

Asuka smiled at this, she loved it when Natsu berated her parents because he let her sit on his shoulders and help him.

He heard the doors open and close and he turned around to see who had come in. He grinned when he saw that Romeo, Alzack and Bisca had finally returned. They were the last of the groups that the council had sent him paperwork about to return so it was time to make a little speech. He winked at Asuka and picked her up, carefully placing her on his shoulders. He then picked up the paperwork and jumped up on the bar, feeling his cape swish around as his Wizard Saint medal held it firmly in place. The cape was still a bit unfamiliar to him, he had his familiar loose black pants and vest still, and his white scarf setting about his shoulders.

"Listen up everybody! You've gone and done it again!" Seeing that he had everybody's attention he held up the stack of council paperwork and put a severe look on his face. "Look at the paperwork the council sent me! Romeo, Bisca, Alzack, was it really necessary to burn down that hotel!" Bisca and Alzack grinned, recognizing what was happening; only Romeo looked chagrined. "Max, what the hell were you doing summoning a sandstorm in that clothing store! Jet, Droy. You destroyed an entire train! There was some nobleman on that train and you destroyed priceless works of art that he was transporting!"

He took a deep breath and smiled, "However, Screw the Council!" He lit the paperwork on fire and watched it burn until it was nothing but ash. "Magic is an unreasonable power, but it is born from reason! It is not some miraculous ability. It is the combination of the spirit that flows within us and with the spirit that flows within nature itself, incarnated into physical form. It takes a strong mind and focus. In fact, magic is the pouring out of one's entire soul! One cannot progress in the way of magic by being mindful of the watching eye from above. Be not afraid of those fools on the council. Follow the path you believe in! That's what it means to be a Fairy Tail wizard!" When he said the last sentence of his speech, he thrust his right arm skyward, forming the Fairy Tail symbol with his hand.

He watched as the rest of the guild did the same, cheering madly. 'Thanks for that one gramps' thought Natsu as he fondly remembered all the times Makarov had given that same speech.

The cheers of the guild however, were abruptly silenced as the doors were kicked open and a familiar voice could be heard throughout the guild, "That was quite an inspiring speech boy!"

The guild stared dumbfounded as their lost members walked in the door like nothing had ever happened. Makarov, Gildarts, Laxus, the Raijinshuu, Erza, Gray, Lucy, Happy, Wendy, Charle, Gajeel, Pantherlily, Levy, Juvia, Cana, Mirajane, Elfman, and Lisanna, all stood in the doorway, all wearing bandages, but all alive. Silence reigned throughout the building until everyone in the guild let out a roar of sound and swarmed their long lost friends.

Natsu stood on the bar in shock, not moving a muscle as the guild veritably tackled their returning members, so happy were they at their return. He tried saying something but couldn't make a coherent sound come out of his mouth and it was only when Asuka starting kicking him in the face that he moved. He slowly hopped down off of the bar and sat her down, and then collapsed into one of the bar chairs, still unable to speak.

He watched as Makarov escaped the throng of people and hopped over to the bar. He didn't say a word as he hopped on up, poured himself a beer and then sat down next to Natsu.

"Well, looks like you've grown up brat."

Natsu felt an immense weight rise of his shoulders as he finally formed a coherent sentence, "And it looks like you haven't aged a day old man."

This made Makarov laugh, and he then explained what had happened, Acnologias attack, Mavis and her Fairy Sphere, and how Blue Pegasus had shown up on Christina II and finally brought them home.

Natsu shook his head at it all saying "That's insane, but I wish Ichiya had told me about Tenrou Island reappearing, that bastard just wants me to owe him a favor I bet."

Whilst Makarov and Natsu were laughing over his statement, and just laughing in general from being so happy, Natsu was hit in the head by a flying blue cat with wings that had tears streaming down its face and was babbling, "Natsu, what happened to you when did you get so oooooold."

Natsu grabbed his best friend and gave him a huge hug, "It's been seven years buddy, and hey, I'm not that old! I'm only 25!"

Makarov grinned and said, "That's pretty old for the immature brat that everybody remembers you as!"

"Yeah I really should apologize to you about all that crap I pulled when I was younger; I never really knew how much trouble you got in with the council because of me."

When he said this everybody stopped talking and stared at him, especially the people returning from Tenroujima.

"Natsu is apologizing… for destroying something… what happened while we were gone!" wailed Lucy.

Natsu grinned and stood up saying "Well, I'm the master now!" causing Makarov to smile with satisfaction, Laxus to drop his jaw in shock, Gajeel to go green with envy, and Gray to burst out laughing.

Gray fell on his ass and rolled around laughing "Oh man Natsu, that's a great joke, c'mon really, there's no way flame brain could become master and who did you steal that Wizard's Saint Medal from?"

Natsu gave him a hard look that immediately silenced him, "It's been 7 years Gray, a lot has happened while you were gone."

Gray stood up and gave him an angry look, "I don't believe it, fight me, there's no way you're stronger than I am."

Natsu just gave him a bored look, "The Master can't just go around fighting his own mages, it sets a bit of a bad precedent."

Before he could say anything else, Gray had launched himself at Natsu with his fist extended. However, when he struck Natsu he passed right through him and fell face first on the floor due to his forward momentum. Natsu turned around and said, "Now really Gray, that wasn't very polite, trying to punch the Master of your guild without provocation."

Gray got up and faced Natsu and said "What the hell just happened, why did I pass through you!"

Natsu grinned and then suddenly disappeared, only for his voice to be heard from where he was standing near the edge of the guild with one of his arms around Erza's waist, "That was a thought projection Ice Princess"

Everyone, even Makarov, looked at him stunned. "But, when did you make the switch?" asked Erza.

"Well it was right when he launched himself at me; everyone was focused on him so I made the switch."

All the Tenroujima returnees looked at him awestruck, while everyone else laughed and shouted, "Master is the best! Nobody can beat him!"

Natsu grinned and shouted, "And now that everybody is back, we're going to have the biggest damn party in Fairy Tail History!"

Everybody could be happy about that, and so everybody cheered and rushed to the bar, ordering drinks, and catching up with old friends.

Natsu didn't let Erza move though, as he stood with her in the corner and smiled, watching the ruckus that ensued as the party got under way.

He felt her eyes on him and looked at her, she smiled and said softly, "You really have grown up haven't you Natsu."

"I had too, when you guys disappeared there were no S-class mages left in the guild. Macao took over as master after six months and I basically promoted myself to S-class. I spent three years doing at least 2 S-class jobs a month, along with as many other jobs as I could take. After that the guild basically forced me to accept the position of Master, so I did and spent the next four years training and dealing with the headache that is the council. They made me a Saint last year when one of those other old fogies died and I saved their bacon, again. Oracion Seis escaped and so I had to track them all down and throw their asses back in jail.

Before Erza could respond to any of these revelations, a tiny figure squeezed out of the crowd and ran over to the two of them. Asuka ran up and jumped into Natsu's arms and he hefted her and placed her on his shoulders without a second thought. "I came over because I wanted to get a better view of everybody that Mommy and Daddy always talk about!" she said.

Natsu grinned but then noticed that Erza had a hurt expression on her face. He leaned over, careful not to drop Asuka and asked her "What's wrong?"

She looked back at him and whispered, "She's yours isn't she?"

Natsu looked at her and his expression changed from confused to understanding as comprehension dawned on him. He carefully lifted Asuka down from his shoulders and set her down on the ground, "Look there's daddy, why don't you go jump on his shoulders eh Asuka?" She nodded and said "Thanks Uncle Natsu!" and dashed off towards Alzack and Bisca.

Natsu looked over at Erza and said, "Her name is Asuka, she's six years old and is Alzack and Bisca's daughter."

He watched as a smile returned to her face and then said, "There's nobody else Erza, once a dragon has found his mate, they mate for life."

He turned and pulled her into a hug whispering, "I've spent seven years trying to hold myself and this guild together, now everyone is finally back, and I don't have to hold on quite as hard."


	2. Chapter 2

Natsu sat at the bar drinking a steaming cup of coffee. He smugly watched the rest of the guild sleep off the massive amounts of alcohol that they had consumed the night before. Only Kinana was around, preparing the bar for what they both knew would be a massive influx of orders when the rest of the guild woke up. Natsu had decided long ago that as master he wouldn't be getting nearly as drunk as he used to at Fairy Tail parties.

He'd spent the whole night practically glued to Erza's side. She was currently slumped over the bar next to him, still asleep. He smiled down at her sleeping form fondly. It was at this moment that Makarov popped up next to him. He had been sleeping on the second floor so Natsu hadn't noticed him wake up.

The old man cheerfully said to Kinana, "Can I get some ale Kinana?"

Natsu looked over at him and chuckled, "No way old man. I need you sober for when we have to talk serious business."

Makarov grumbled, "I can't talk serious business if I don't start the day off right."

Natsu gave him a mocking look, "Alright Makarov, you can have one mug of ale. After that you're switching to something else."

This seemed to cheer the old man up and after he'd gotten his drink and taken the first sip he looked sideways at Natsu, "You've matured Natsu. I never thought I would see the day."

Natsu grinned at him, "Well I kind of had too. But, I haven't matured that much."

The old master glanced curiously at the new. Natsu continued, "I am going to remind Gray that I'm stronger than him every day for the rest of my life."

The old man snorted, "There's the Natsu we all know and love."

Natsu's face got a serious look on it then, "Things can't go back to how they were before the Tenrou incident. I'm not the same person anymore, and neither are the rest of the guild members. However, Laxus, Gajeel, and Gray, are all going to challenge my authority today. I'm going to beat their faces in, but they're going to resent me for it. They'll resent me for growing powerful while they didn't. They won't accept me as Master. Therefore, I'm going to relinquish the title back to you."

Makarov spit out the sip of ale he'd been taking, earning him a dirty look from Kinana, before sputtering, "What the hell boy. There's no way I'm taking the title back. I need a vacation."

Natsu wasn't amused, "You've been on vacation for seven years Makarov. It's time to get back to work."

The old man glared at him, "It hasn't been seven years for me though!"

Natsu grinned, "Well that's just tough luck. Now come on. We have to go fill out some paperwork."

Natsu led the dazed old man up to his office and filled out all the documents needed for guild leadership to be transferred back to Makarov. While he was doing so Makarov asked, "So, how powerful have you truly become Natsu?"

Natsu shrugged, "Well, they made me a wizard saint, but I don't think I'm as powerful as you are yet. I beat Jura whenever we have practice bouts but I haven't tested myself against any other Saints. If I had to guess, I'd probably say I'm a little bit above Gildarts."

Makarov gaped at him, "It's only been seven years boy! What the hell have you been doing?"

Natsu grinned, "Lots and lots of intensive training, plus a bunch of stupid council missions. Those bastards have nearly gotten me killed at least three times in the past four years, and they still have the audacity to try and make me pay for the damage the guild causes. I should be making them pay me."

He finished the paperwork and passed it over to Makarov for him to sign. The old man did it with a sigh and said, "I can't believe you swindled me back into this job."

Natsu got up and walked around his desk, clapping the old man on the back saying jovially, "You love it old man. You wouldn't know what to do with yourself if you weren't Master."

Master shook his head, "Untrue, I would join Sorcerer's Weekly as their beautiful women consultant."

Natsu could see the lust in the old man's eyes and groaned, "They don't have one of those… Master."

Makarov looked at him with knowing eyes, "Feels weird to say it after having been it so long doesn't it."

Natsu shrugged, "I'll get used to it. Besides, I don't have to deal with council paperwork anymore." He grinned at the thought and strode out of the room whistling a jaunty tune. He didn't notice Makarov still sitting in the chair behind him, with a catatonic look of horror on his face.

Natsu strode down to the bar and resumed drinking his coffee, noticing that some people in the guild were beginning to stir. He sensed Erza raising her head from the bar and turned around to smile down at her sleepy face. She looked back at him and groaned, saying, "Why does my head feel like I've been slamming it into a tree all night."

He grinned at her and said, "That would be a hangover Erza. I'm surprised though, you really didn't drink that much last night."

She groaned at him again, "You know that I don't have a high tolerance for alcohol."

The pink haired man only laughed, "Well I have just the cure for you."

He waved over at Kinana and he sensed her wave of acknowledgement, all while Erza sat looking at him with a confused face. Her confusion quickly turned to delight as Kinana brought over a large slice of strawberry cake. She didn't say another word to Natsu as she immediately dug in, devouring her favorite food. Natsu only smiled as he watched her, keeping his sadness and longing behind the smiling mask on his face.

When she was finished she turned to him with a huge smile on her face. She proceeded to throw her arms around Natsu's neck and hug him fiercely saying, "Thank you Natsu! It's perfect!"

He gave her a bemused look, "It's only cake Erza."

She pulled back and looked him in the eyes with, dead serious, "But after seven years you remembered. So, the cake is perfect."

He smiled at her and placed a hand on her neck, pulling her in for a passionate kiss. It took her by surprise, but what surprised her more were the whistles that came from where the rest of the guild was supposedly still sleeping. Natsu broke the kiss and glared over at Jet and Droy, who were sitting awake now at their table. They grinned at him and Jet shouted, "Get a room Master, no one wants to see that!"

Natsu grinned at him and shouted back, "Shut up Jet. I'm not the master anymore, so I can come over there and kick your ass whenever I feel like it now."

There was a rush of wind as Jet was suddenly standing next to him. Natsu let go of Erza and she pulled back into her seat, still blushing madly. Jet said with astonishment, "What the hell Master? What do you mean you aren't the master?"

Natsu glanced at him, "I passed the position back to Makarov. I didn't need the hassle of having to assert my authority over everyone that just got back."

Jet nodded sagely, "That's true. 1000 jewels that you get at least three challenges today."

Natsu grinned at him then, "No way in hell I'm taking that bet."

Jet grinned back and slapped him on the shoulder before going to tell Droy the news.

Natsu turned back to Erza to find her with a curious look on her face, "Why do you think you won't be able to assert your authority?"

He said to her, "Everyone that just got back, they still see me as the person I was seven years ago. I'm not. I am a vastly different person, who has had to live through the hardships that the guild has gone through the past seven years, and lead it through those times. Laxus sees me as the brat that was never as strong as him and that he always looked down on. Gajeel and Gray see me as a rival. I'm none of those things anymore. But, their perception of me won't change and so I won't be able to assert my authority over them."

He paused for a moment and then said thoughtfully, "Well, I could, but it would require multiple trips to the hospital and I'm sure no one wants to pay for that."

Erza's eyes suddenly widened, "My room at Fairy Hills! I haven't paid rent in seven years!"

Natsu only grinned, "Don't worry about it. I pulled a few strings and had your rent payments put on hold."

Erza said with relief, "Good, because I did not want to have to replace all of my armor that I left there."

While they were having this conversation, the rest of the guild began to wake up. Most of them only groaned and barely tried to raise their heads from the table, but some sat up and started ordering food from the Kinana. Soon the bar was doing a brisk business and the smell of food was wafting through the air. Makarov waited until most of the guild was up and about before coming downstairs and hopping up on the bar. He yelled, "Alright brats I have an announcement. Natsu had decided to step down from his post as Master and I am going to be master again."

Most of the guild didn't really know how to react. For half of them, Makarov had always been master. For the ones that hadn't been to Tenrou Island, Natsu was the one who had led them through dark times, and they didn't want him to go. Gray however, stood up and yelled, "It's not like Natsu was really the master in the first place."

Natsu sighed as he knew what was probably going to happen next. One moment Gray was standing on top of a table about to shout something else, and the next he was pinned against a pillar by his collar, courtesy of Jet. Droy was also there, flexing his muscular arms and cracking his knuckles. Macao, Wakaba, Romeo, Alzack, and Bisca all stood up from where they sat and marched over to him. Jet said dangerously, "Gray, I would advise you to shut your stupid mouth. Master Natsu is a great mage and an even better Master. You're going to respect him, or are we going to have to beat some respect into you?"

The others all chimed in with similar comments while Gray looked at them defiantly. Natsu leaned over to Erza and said, "See."

He didn't wait for her response as he stood up and said, "Now now brats, let poor Gray go. Since I'm no longer the master, I think can defend my own honor."

Jet instantly dropped Gray, and the rest of them turned their backs on him and went back to their seats. Gray was a little bit unnerved by what had happened so he didn't really know what to say. Natsu looked at him for a few seconds before announcing to the guild, "Alright, everyone that just got back from Tenrou, if you feel like challenging me go ahead."

Laxus, Gajeel, and Gray immediately stood up and started walking forward. After a moment's hesitation, Erza also stood up and said, "I shall have my fight as well. It will be good to see how powerful you've become."

Natsu grinned at her, "Don't regret this later."

She gave him one of her patented Erza glares, "You think you'll beat me that easily?"

After seven years the glare didn't affect Natsu at all, he only grinned and said, "Easily? Who said easily? I certainly didn't."

Makarov shouted from his perch on the bar, "Alright everyone! It seems Natsu has four challengers. So, to ensure that I don't have extra council paperwork right off the bat, we're moving out of Magnolia and into the forest for the battles."

The entire guild cheered and rushed out, hangovers forgotten.

Thirty minutes later they all stood to one side of a huge clearing in the middle of the forest just outside of Magnolia. Natsu stood in the middle, wearing a look of boredom on his face, his cape fluttering in the slight breeze.

His four challengers stood in front of the large crowd of Fairy Tail mages. Makarov shouted, "Alright Natsu, who do you want first?

Natsu immediately pointed at Gray and said, "I want the Ice Princess, I could use a little warm up."

Gray stepped out from the crowd and made his way into the clearing until he was about twenty feet away from Natsu. He shouted, "Don't underestimate me Natsu, you can't have gotten that much stronger."

Natsu only grinned and said, "Try me."

Makarov shouted from his position of referee, "Begin!"

Gray slammed both of his hands together and shouted, "**Ice Make: Lance!**" sending multiple lances of ice shooting at Natsu. He calmly took two large steps to his left, making the ice miss him completely. He crossed his arms and stared at Gray, daring him to be more serious.

Natsu's nonchalance about the entire thing only served to anger Gray who shouted, "**Ice Bringer!**" creating two large blades of ice, one coming from his right hand and the other coming from his left elbow. He charged at Natsu and when he reached him he started to shout,  
>"<strong>Seven Slice Da…!<strong>"

In the middle of his attack, Natsu calmly backhanded him with a closed fist and sent him flying across the clearing, and through six trees before finally slamming into the seventh and falling unconscious.

Natsu smiled when he heard mutterings break out among the people that had returned from Tenroujima. Juvia ran off in the direction that Gray had flown shrieking something about nursing Gray back to health and making him love her. The ones who had been with him all those years only smiled and cheered him on. Natsu pointed to Gajeel without preamble, "You're next Gajeel."

The iron dragon slayer stepped forward and said, "Gladly Salamander."

Gajeel began suddenly by shouting, "**Iron Dragon's Lance: Demon Logs!**" His right forearm turned into a spear, and dozens of spears shot out and flew towards Natsu. Natsu was forced to dive to his right to avoid the ranged attack this time. Gajeel didn't make the same mistake as Gray had though. He had charged while Natsu was dodging and shouted, "**Iron Dragons Club!**" as he got near Natsu. His arm turned into a large iron club and he swung it at Natsu's head, who had just come up out of his dive. Instead of dodging though, Natsu merely lifted his hand and grabbed Gajeel's iron arm. He said quietly, "I think I'm actually going to have to use my magic for you."

He kept a crushing grip on Gajeel's iron arm that the black haired man couldn't break free of as he raised his right fist, flames enveloping it. Natsu shouted, "**Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!**" and punched Gajeel in the face. Gajeel's eyes widened as he received the blow and then he went flying. He didn't go quite as far as Gray, because he used his club to slow himself down and skid across the clearing.

The man landed heavily on his stomach. He tried to push himself up and succeeded in getting up to one knee, but he couldn't go any further. Makarov looked at him and shouted, "Natsu wins this round!"

Levy ran out to help Gajeel up, Jet and Droy followed, not wanting to leave the small blue haired woman's side. When they had taken Gajeel away Natsu pointed at Laxus and said, "You're next lightning boy."

Laxus cracked his knuckles and stepped forward saying, "Gladly."

Natsu chuckled, "Don't get cocky Laxus. I won't hold back like I did with the other two."

The blonde man said menacingly, "I don't need you too punk. It's 100 years too early for to think about beating me."

Natsu laughed then, "The arrogance of youth." The rest of the guild looked at him before shouting in unison, "You're only 25 you moron!"

He pointed a finger at Laxus and shouted, "Come then!"

The blonde man immediately turned into a bolt of lightning, heading straight for Natsu. He reappeared right in front of him and shouted, "**Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist!**" punching at Natsu. The fire dragon slayer had expected the move and had already prepared the counter. He shouted, "**Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!**" swinging his fist around to meet Laxus's oncoming strike. The resulting explosion blew both of them back and when the dust settled it was clear that Laxus had gotten the worst of the encounter. He was breathing heavily, his clothes ripped and small burns were all over his right arm. Natsu was ten feet from where he had started, staring calmly at Laxus, his clothes only slightly worse for wear. Natsu taunted, "Had enough yet brat?"

Laxus growled at him, "Not likely punk."

Laxus charged and they exchanged a flurry of blows, most of Natsu's connecting, but only one of Laxus's. When they disengaged Natsu was still breathing lightly but he reached up to rub his jaw. He grinned, "Alright you landed a hit on me. I guess it's time I got serious then."

He could hear the rest of the Tenrou returnee's muttering, "Really? He's not being serious?"

All those who hadn't been there knew what was coming and could only grin in anticipation of seeing Laxus taken down a peg. Laxus said, "Bullshit, you don't have anything else."

Natsu gave him a feral smile, "We'll just see won't we Laxus."

Suddenly, five copys of Natsu were standing in a pentagram around Laxus, who looked around confused. Natsu said, from his original position, "There are four thought projections, and one real me. I'm about to show you the new magic I developed while everyone was gone."

Natsu, and the four thought projections mirrored him, raised his hands into the air and chanted, "**Dragons Soar through the air, wings darken the sky, fire blackens the earth, unleash your fury!**" At this point in the chant, beams of fire had sprung from Natsu's and his thought projections hands. They arced through the air and then connected with the hands of a different copy of Natsu. If looked at from above, they would form the shape of a fiery star. He continued by shouting, "**Dragons Breath: Fiery Pillar!**"

Everyone watched in awe as a dragon completely made of flames coalesced in the air above Laxus. It opened its mouth and breathed flames that flew down from the sky and smashed into the ground where Laxus was standing. It was a solid stream of fire, but somehow seemed to be contained by the fiery beams emanating from Natsu's hands. After five seconds, the pillar of fire flowing from the dragon dissipated, as well as the fiery dragon itself.

Natsu was panting slightly as he lowered his arms and the four thought projections disappeared. He calmly walked over to the crater that was all that was left of where Laxus was standing and looked down. It was five feet deep with perfectly vertical walls and was shaped like a pentagram. He hopped down and found Laxus's unconscious body at the bottom. He sighed and muttered, "I told him not to get cocky." Natsu grabbed Laxus and hoisted him onto his shoulders before jumping out of the hole and walking over to where the guild stood, mouths agape. He motioned for Wendy to come forward and gently sat Laxus down in the grass. When she got to them he said, "I may have overdone it a little bit. You can heal him right?"

She stuttered, "Su-sure Natsu."

He gave her a big smile and hugged her, "Thanks Wendy."

He turned to the guild and the entire Tenrou group crowded around him, demanding an explanation of what just happened. He shrugged and said, "What? I haven't been sitting on my ass for seven years. I got out, and I trained. I'm sure if you guys had been here you would be just as powerful."

Makarov looked at him in wonder and said, "I've never seen anything like that Natsu, you're going to have to explain that to me."

Natsu waved his hands and said, "Later, I still have one more fight."

Everyone backed off except Erza who stood in her normal heart-kreuz breastplate, blue skirt, and black boots. Her hair moved lightly in the wind as she requiped a sword into her hand. She pointed it at Natsu and said, "Even though you have shown your power, I shall not back down!"

Natsu smiled at her, "I wouldn't expect you to Erza."

She darted at him suddenly; swinging her sword horizontally in an attempt to test him. He bent back just enough allow the sword to pass harmlessly in front of him and then rushed forward, grabbing her wrist and twisting it around until he was behind her, wrist in his crushing grip. He used his other arm to pin hers to her side as he pulled her against him and whispered, "I have a better idea than fighting. I've waited seven years to have you back with me, and I'm not waiting any longer."

Before she could say anything, fire roared around them and a moment later they were gone, leaving nothing behind but a large scorch mark and a very confused guild.

* * *

><p>They appeared a moment later in a flash of flames about a mile away, still in the forest, but now just outside of a large white house. Erza was about to start yelling angrily at Natsu when he pushed her against the door and brought his lips down on hers in a searing kiss. He gripped her waist tightly as she gave into him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He abruptly broke the kiss and moved back slightly growling, "Seven years Erza. I've been alone for seven years. My heart has been missing a piece of itself. Now you're back though, and I'm not waiting a minute longer to make you mine."<p>

He kicked down the door the door to his own house before sweeping Erza into his arms. She still had her arms wrapped around his neck as he maneuvered through is the house and into his bedroom. She said timidly, "Natsu, are you sure you still want me? You've matured so much, how can you still…" He cut her off by setting her down gently on his bed and placing a finger over her lips.

He smiled gently, "Yes, I have changed in the past seven years. But my love for you isn't a flickering candle that is going to be blown out by the breath of adversity. My love is like a roaring fire on a cold winter's night, the heat of it sinking deeply into your bones to ward off the cold."

Erza smiled at him, with a small tear in her eye, "You really have changed Natsu."

She then proceeded to grab his head and slam it into her chest, which was covered in armor, in her own approximation of a hug. He muttered, "I think this would work better if you got out of that armor."

She blushed and said, "You're right, I'm sorry for hurting you, please hit me."

She requpped out of her armor and into a white blouse in a flash of light before leaning forward and bowing her head slightly, closing her eyes and waiting to be struck. Natsu sighed before placing his hands on her shoulders and pushing her down gently onto the bed. He slid in next to her and murmured, "I can think of a better way to punish you."

Natsu knew that Erza had a habit of reading smutty books. When she'd been gone, he had gone through her room to clean and found stacks of them all over the place. He'd even read a few and they were dirty enough to make him blush and not be able to look the guild's females in the eye for weeks. Even knowing all of this, he did not expect the shiver that he felt go through Erza's body, nor the lustful look that flashed across her face as she pulled him on top off her and pressed her lips to his.

They kissed hungrily, Natsu trying to make up for seven years of lost time, Erza trying to give Natsu seven years' worth of kisses all at once. Natsu used his body to knock her legs open and settled himself between her legs, feeling his pants tighten as he pressed himself against her. They continued kissing, tongues dancing against each other, as Erza ripped off Natsu's vest and scarf, tossing them to the floor. He felt her hands run along his back, pulling him to her as tightly as they could. He moved one hand down to her thigh, running it slowly upwards till her could feel his fingertips brush against satin underwear. He then lightly ran his fingernails back down her thigh, feeling her shudder against him and break off the kiss to gasp, "Don't tease me Natsu."

He winked at her and then moved his hands up to quickly begin unbuttoning her blouse. He had slight difficulty getting it off of her but managed it after a moment of tugging. Her large breasts were covered only by a simple white bra. He went back to kissing her before she could get too self-conscious and began to run his hands over her well-toned body. It only took moments though for him to lose what control he had.

He quickly sat up and as Erza gave him a half annoyed half questioning look, he began pulling the rest of her clothes from her body. It took her only a moment to get the message and she began wriggling, trying to help him in any way possible, but only distracting him more. He finally got her clothes off and stopped to savor the moment. Erza was lying on the bed in front of him, completely naked, giving him a sultry look. When he stopped to take it all in though, her look turned to one of insecurity, "Natsu, is something wrong? Why ar…"

He didn't let her get any farther as he slid back on top of her and gave her a gentle kiss. He murmured against her lips, "Absolutely nothing is wrong. You are more beautiful than I could have imagined."

At this she blushed, but now that she was unclothed Natsu could see all the interesting things the blush did to her chest. He winked at her before going back in for a passionate kiss. As they kissed Natsu ran his hands all over her now naked body, feeling all of the muscle that he expected, but a surprising amount of softness as well. He broke the kiss only to begin kissing down her neck. He reached her collarbone and nipped it, his sharper than normal canines causing her to gasp at the mixed pain and pleasure.

He kept moving downwards until he came to the swell of one of her breasts. He brought a hand up to cup it as he slowly moved his mouth to lightly kiss her pink nipple. As his mouth settled around it and his tongue flicked across it he looked up and locked eyes with her. Her eyes were clouded with lust and as he stared into them he carefully bit down on her nipple, making her moan and squirm beneath him.

He moved to the other breast, doing the same thing to elicit more moans from the scarlet haired beauty writhing beneath him. He then moved downwards, kissing across her toned stomach before his head came to a rest between her legs. His feet were almost off the end of the bed as he lay stretched out on his stomach. He brought his arms around her legs and snaked them up to grip her hips. He lightly kissed one of her thighs, almost making her jump at his touch. He slowly worked his mouth ever closer to her core, making her gasp out, "Natsu, stop teasing me!"

He chuckled as he planted a kiss right next to her womanhood, "Oh no, I've waited too long for this, I'm going to savor it."

He moved to the other thigh, doing the exact same thing, going agonizingly slow while using his grip on her waist to hold her in place. He finally reached her core and gave it a long slow lick which caused her to moan and buck her hips. She moved a hand and tangled it in Natsu's hair holding his head in place and saying breathily, "Don't stop, don't you dare stop."

Natsu's reply was to lean in closer and fully commit to pleasuring Erza. She wriggled and moaned as he licked and kissed her, pushing her hips closer to him, trying to get him to delve deeper. He continued for a time, as her moans turned to screams that steadily became higher pitched. She started writhing around and screaming his name as her entire body arched up off the bed and shuddered from the sensations Natsu was giving her. He stopped for a moment and she relaxed heavily onto the bed saying, "Oh my god Natsu that was amazing."

He grinned, stripping out of his pants at the same time, saying, "Just wait."

He crawled back on top of her, both of them now fully naked, and he felt her shiver underneath him as he came to a rest with his hardness pressed firmly against the outside of her. He could see her looking down between them at what jutted out from his body. She looked back into his eyes and said in a sultry voice, "I think you have something for me."

Natsu chuckled as he used a hand to guide himself inside her, "I most certainly do."

He pressed himself into her, finding a flimsy barrier that he broke through with only a minor amount of effort. It caused Erza to hiss in pain though, as he pushed himself fully inside of her. He kissed her, to distract her from the pain, and when he felt her nod he broke away and stared into her eyes before slowly pulling himself out and slowly pushing himself back in. He groaned, feeling the walls of her warm, velvety core tighten around him. He could hear her moan as he sheathed himself fully inside her, wrapping her legs around his waist to try and push him deeper.

He began to thrust now, slowly building up speed as he moved down to kiss Erza's neck. Her moaning increased in volume with the swiftness of his thrusts, tangling one of her hands in his hair and using the other to run her nails along his back. Her moans and screams of pleasure mixed with his groans as they built towards a climax. They both moved in rhythm, his thrusts met with the rocking of her body to create the most pleasure they both could. He could feel her clench around him and gasped out, "Erza, I can't…"

She interrupted him with a scream of, "Don't stop!"

He didn't, instead increasing the force of his thrusts and biting down on her neck, causing her to scream in pleasure. He could feel the contractions of her core around him and it sent him over the edge. He released himself inside her, thrusting as deep as he could, her legs helping push him the slightest fraction deeper into her. After a few moments he collapsed on top of her, both of them breathing heavily. He could still feel her body twitching with aftershocks as he lay on top of her, trying to catch his breath. He moved to slide out of her and roll away but she wrapped her arms around him and kept her legs wrapped up murmuring, "Don't go. Stay like this."

He complied, resting his in the hollow of her neck, feeling the pounding of both his heart and hers subside. After a few minutes she slowly released him. He slid out of her and stood up saying quietly, "Come on, I think we both might need a shower after that."

She gave a rather un-Erza like giggle and moved to stand up as well. She did, but was very unsteady and had to lean on Natsu for support. She gave him a mock glare and said, "I can't believe you did this to me!"

He leaned down to kiss her with a chuckle, "I can hardly believe it either."

Thirty minutes later they were back in bed, curled up next to each other, both freshly clean from the shower they'd taken. Natsu wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her flush against him, enjoying the feel of her soft skin on his. He laid his head next to hers and whispered, "I love you, Erza Scarlet."

He could hear her sleepy murmur of, "I love you too Natsu."

He pulled her as tight to him as he could as they fell asleep.


End file.
